Manila-hemp-fiber-stripping machine.



PATENTED'JUNE 9, 1908. E. L. BRAOY & w. c. WELBORNK MANILA HEMP FIBER STRIPPING MACHINE.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

APPLICATION I'ILED NOV. 10,1905.

4 f Mu No. 890,491. PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908. B. L. BRAGY & w. c. WELBORN. MANILA HEMP FIBER STRIPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1 0s. 9 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

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No. 890,491. PATENTED JUNE 9, 190a.

. E. L. BRADY 63 w. c. WBLBORN.

MANILA HEMP FIBER STRIPPING MAGHINB.

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N0. 890,4 91. PATBNTED JUNE 9, 1908.

E. L.-BRAGY & O. WELBURN. MANILA HEMP FIBER STRIPPING MAGHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 10, 1905.

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

whesseax cm, WAsumum UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD L. BRAOY AND WAYNE G. WELBORN, OF MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

MANILA-HEMP-FIBEB-STRIPPING MACHINE.

Application filed November 10, 1905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD L. BRAOY and WAYNE O. WELBORN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Manila, Philippine Islands, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fiber- Stripping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

In our invention is found a machine simple in construction, of few parts and positive in operation, its organization being such that it provides for stripping Manila hemp petioles of their fiber with a minimum of waste; second, for stripping the inside layer of the petiole, (which has been heretofore always wasted) of the fiber that it contains; third, for stripping from the core of the stalk of the abaca plant the fiber that it contains; fourth, for securing a larger percentage of fiber per pound from the abaca stalk at less cost and labor than heretofore; and fifth, for utilizing the fiber from the core of the abaca stalks usually cast aside as waste by hand strippers and other machine strippers.

We desire to call attention to the fact in connection with the above enumerated objects that up to the resent all Manila hemp has been stripped of the fiber by hand, by first separating the inside from the outside layer of the petiole and stripping the outside layer of its fiber by means of a stationary knife, the inside layer being cast aside as waste; the core of the stalk being also cast aside as unserviceable.

Our invention obviates the necessity of first separating the two layers of the petiole, and strips the entire petiole at once and saves the fiber contained in the inside layer; it further strips the inside layer of the petiole and core of the stalk cast aside by the hand method and secures from them an excellent quality of fiber, making a saving in quantity of over one hundred per cent. over the hand method and improving the quality of the fiber thus secured.

Other advantages of the invention will be disclosed in the specification and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved fiber stripping machine. same. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the machine from the feed end. Fig. 4 is a side view of the driving mechanism for the feed rolls. Fig. 5 is a plan view partly in section of the same Specification of Letters Patent.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the Patented. June 9, 1908.

Serial No. 286,769.

mechanism. Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are, respectively, a side, front and plan view of the mechanism for removing the cleaned fiber from the feeding means. Fig. 9 is a side view and Fig. 10 an inside view of the shoe for cooperating with the scutching wheel that acts on the petiole. Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of a portion of the scutching wheel and one of its blades showing the means for adjustably attaching it thereto.

Similar reference characters indicate similar parts in the respective figures.

The main frame A, which may be of wood or metal as desired, is provided with bearings 18 for the main driving shaft 17 on one end of which are mounted two pulleys 16 and 19, power being communicated to the pulley 16 by means of a belt from a prime motor, or if desired, the shaft 17 may be driven by any other convenient means.

On the main shaft 17 is mounted the main scutching wheel 4 which has'attached on its periphery a number of stripping blades 3. The blades are, by means of bolts a, attached to bent pieces of iron or angles 1), which in turn are bolted to the rim of the wheel. The bolts a pass through slotted holes in the angles 1) so that the blades may be adjusted with reference to their distance from the shoe 5.

The pulley 19, mounted on the main shaft 17, drives, by means of a belt 20, a pulley on shaft 21 carried in bearings 11 fastened to the main frame A on the under side of the upper longitudinal pieces thereof. On this second shaft 21 is fixed the secondary scutching wheel 10 having on its periphery stripping blades 61, the said wheel being in all respects similar to the main scutching wheel 4 except that the secondary wheel is somewhat smaller. The secondary wheel 10 acts on the butt ends of the material, and has cooperating with it a shoe 8 placed above it in the position shown in Fig. 1. The purpose of the shoes 5 and 8 will be described hereinafter.

Between the scutching wheels 4 and 10 are placed two feed rollers B and C mounted, respectively, on shafts 2 and 22 carried in standards or bearings 23. The upper shaft 2 v is journaled in sliding blocks D, or otherwise,

to allow a limited upward movement in order that the feed rollers B and C may separate sufficiently to allow the butt ends of the material to pass. The proper amount of pros scutching volve in the opposite direction.

sure necessaryis obtained by means of springs d and screws e. On the shafts 2 and 22, at the right hand side of the machine, are mounted spur gears E and F, respectively, which mesh together. On said shafts are also fixed sprocket wheels 25 and 26, the shaft 2 carrying the sprocket wheel 25 and the shaft 22 that 26. These sprocket wheels 25 and 26 are rotated by means of sprocket chains 27 and 28 driven by sprocket wheels 29 and 30 mounted on the reversible friction driving mechanism 31. A detail of this mechanism is shown in Fig. 5. It consists of a friction wheel 32 splined on the main driving shaft 17. On the sides of the friction wheel 32, but adapted to rotate freely on the shaft 17, are friction cups shown at 33 and 34, re spectively. Lateral movement of the cups on the shaft 17 is prevented by any suitable means. On the friction cups 33 and 34 are rigidly mounted the sprocket wheels 29 and 30, already mentioned. The operation of this device is as follows: The friction wheel 32 is caused to slide laterally on the shaft 17 when the hand lever 7, fixed to one end of a longitudinal shaft 36, is raised and lowered. A yoke 35 on the opposite end of the shaft 36 partly surrounds the friction wheel 32 and is connected thereto by pins engaging a peripheral groove in said wheel. The lateral motion of the friction wheel 32 causes it to firmly, engage the idle friction cup on the side towards which it is moved. This causes the corresponding sprocket wheel and chain to communicate motion in one direction to the feed rollers B and C. When the friction wheel is drawn over to the other side, the en gaged friction cup will also rotate and through the corresponding sprocket wheel and chain will cause the-feed rollers to re- This will be clearly understood on considering that while the sprocket wheels 29 and 30 always revolve in the same direction, the drive is in one case communicated to the shaft of the upper feed roller B, and in the other case to the shaft of the lower feed roller C, thereby causing the feed rollers to change their direction of rotation. At one end of the machine is the feed trough 1 placed above and extending over the secondary scutching wheel 10, and its shoe 8, the latter terminating at its upper end in a narrow edge 6 extending across the trough. Below the edge 6 is a supporting board 9 on which the butt ends of the leaves fall when they pass over the said edge.

The machine being in operation, when the hand lever 7 is raised the friction wheel 32 will engage with the friction cup 33, thereby causing the feed rolls B and O to revolve in a direction to feed any material placed between them towards the main scutchin wheel 4. The operator now takes severa petioles and lays them on the feed trough 1, pushing them up to the feed rollers B and O.

lever 7 which disengages the friction wheel 32 from the friction cup 33, and moves it into engagement with the friction cup 34. This reversal in direction of the feed rollers B and C does not involve a reversal of the rotation of the main scutching wheel 4, which continues to revolve in the direction of the arrow and thoroughly cleans the fibers while they are being withdrawn by the feed rollers. The reversal of the feed rollers, however, causes the butt ends of the material which have in the meantime dropped over the edge 6 onto the supporting board 9, to travel against the secondary shoe 8, they passing over the supporting board 9 and into engagement with the secondary scutching wheel 10. This secondary wheel strips or beats off the pulp against the secondary shoe 8. The feed rollers B and O are allowed to continue running in the reverse direction until about two and one half feet, more or less, of the butts are fed to the secondary scutching wheel 10, which will insure the thorough cleaning of the petioles throughout their entire length.

It will be seen that in this machine but one set of feed rolls is employed, which rolls, in addition to serving to feed the material successively to the respective scutching wheels, act also to hold the material when operated upon by either wheel. This action is due to the fact that the peripheries of the scutching wheels travel at a velocity much hi her than that of the peripheries of the feed rol ls, thus giving to the latter a holding-back or retaining function, which enables the material to be efficiently acted upon by the scutching wheel at the time called into service. This is of great importance, inasmuch as the scutching wheels, being by reason of their arrangement in close proximity to each other will work on any length of material without loss of time in transferring said material from one wheel to the other.

On the end of the upper feed roller shaft 2 opposite to that carrying the sprocket wheel 25, is rigidly mounted a sprocket wheel 38 and a friction device 55, shown more in detail in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. The sprocket wheel 38 is free to turn upon the shaft 22. Carried by the said shaft on the respective sides of the sprocket wheel are friction disks, one indicated by 51 and the other by 52. The friction disk 51 is rigidly attached to the shaft,

while that 52 is capable of lateral movement along the shaft though made by a key connection to rotate with it.

53 and 54 are look nuts, by means of which the pressure of the friction disks 51 and 52 against the sprocket wheel may be regulated. By these means the sprocket wheel 38 and the sprocket chains 39, which it engages, can be made to take u motion from the shaft 2, which motion wil continue as long as no positive stop is interposed thereto. When such a positive stop is presented, the sprocket wheel 38 will slip between the friction disks 51 and 52, while they continue to rotate with the shaft 2. The sprocket chain 39 passes over and around the idle pulleys 40 and 41, see Fig. 1. On one of the links of the said sprocket chain is a projection 42 which engages a corresponding projection 43 on a vertically moving traveler F. This traveler F is mounted upon and guided in its movement by a fixed guiding bar 13 which is itself at tached to the main frame A at 45, Fig. 1, and secured at the upper end by the brace 46, also attached to the main frame. To the traveler F is pivoted a tipping arm 47 on a bearing screw 48. The amount of vertical swing of the tipping arm is defined by the stop 49 projecting from the traveler.

When the sprocket chain 39 is in motion, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6, it will carry the traveler F upwards until it is brought up against a stop 15, Fig. 1, when the sprocket wheel 38 and the chain 39 will remain at rest, the friction disks 51 and 52 slipping against the sides of the sprocket wheel. When the sprocket chain 39 and sprocketwheel38 move in the opposite direction, due to the reversal of motion of the upper feed roller shaft 2 upon which the said sprocket wheel and friction disks are mounted, the traveler F will, by its weight, follow the projection 42 downwards until the traveler comes to rest at the bottom of the fixed guiding bar 13. The sprocket chain 39 will continue its motion until the projection 42 thereon strikesthe stop 58, when it will again come to rest and the friction disks 51 and 52 will once more slip on the sprocket wheel 38. When the motion of the feed rollers B and C is again reversed, the projection on the sprocket chain 39 will again start towards the traveler F and will take it up again on its upward journey. The cooperation of these motions in effecting the extraction of the cleaned fiber is as follows: Assuming that the traveler F is at 15the upper end of its travel, see Fig. 1and that no material is in the machine,'the operator takes a couple of petioles and starts the feed rollers B and C so that the petioles are fed to the main scutching wheel 4. The direction of rotation of the upper feed roller B and shaft 2 will cause the traveler F to descend and the tipping arm 47 to strike across the top of the petiole lying over the opening 14 between the feed rolls and the supporting board 9. The tipping arm 47 will tip upwards allowing the traveler F to continue its descent and the arm to pass to the under side of the petioles. The tipping arm 47 is about balanced on its axis in order that it may readily turn out of the way of the petioles. The descent of the traveler F may be made positive by having a second projection 57 on another one of the links of the sprocket chain 39.

When the operator reverses the motion of the feed rollers B and C at the time that the butt ends of the petioles have passed the edge 6, and then starts them to the secondary scutching Wheel 10, the traveler F will move upwards towards the material lying across the opening 14. The position of the projection on the sprocket chain 39 which drives the traveler is so located with reference to the time of travel of the butt ends of the petioles from the edge 6 into the secondary scutching wheel 10, that the traveler and tipping arm 47 will reach the opening 14 only after enough of the butt ends of the petioles have been fed to the secondary scutching wheel 10 to insure the cleaning of the entire petiole. Now as the traveler F continues to rise and the feed rollers B and C to feed out fiber from the scutching wheel 4 at the same speed only that the traveler F is rising, it follows that the traveler and the tipping arm 47 will pull out the fiber that is under treatment by the secondary scutching wheel 10. When the traveler has extracted all the fiber from the secondary wheel 10 the operator takes it off the tipping arm 47 and waits for the ends of the fibers being fed out by the feed rolls.

Referring again to the main scutching wheel 4 and the shoe 5, the shoe is provided with adjusting standards 59 and 60, see Fig. 1, by means of which the shoe 5 is set at the proper distance relatively to the stripping blades, in order that adjustment may be made for different classes of fibrous plants. The shoe 8 is also provided with similar standards and 71. The stripping shoes 5 and 8 are provided on their sides with guards 63 and 64, see Figs. 9 and 10, in order to retain all the fiber while the blades are stripping off the pulp. These shoes may be made of metal, wood or a combination. of both, the only requirement necessary being that a slight elasticity shall be given to the working faces, thereby rendering the action of the stripping blades 3 and 61 more effective. By reason of the placing of the secondary scutching wheel in such manner that its perimeter is in a plane lower than that of the feed trough thefeed of the material to the primary scutch ing wheel is unobstructed and the length of the machine reduced to a minimum.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1. In a machine of the class specified, the

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combination of a primary and a secondary scutching wheel, feed rolls, common to the said primary and secondary scutching wheels, arranged between the same and adapted to feed towards either scutching wheel the material to be treated and to hold the same during the action thereon of either of said scutching-wheels, and means operated by the feed rolls for removing the cleaned fiber from the machine, substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a primary and a secondary scutching wheel, feed rolls between the scutching wheels adapted to feed the material to be treated first to the primary and then to the secondary wheel, and means operated by the feed rolls for picking up the material between the feed rolls and the secondary scutching wheel and removing it from the feeding means, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a main frame, a feed trough, a primary and a secondary scutching wheel the perimeter of the latter being in a plane lower than that of said feed trough, feed rolls common to said primary and secondary scutching wheels and arranged between the same and adapted to feed towards either scutching wheel the material to be treated and to hold the same during action thereon by either, and means actuated through the medium of the feed rolls for removing the material from the secondary scutching wheel,

substantially as set forth.

.4. In a machine of the class specified,- a main driving shaft, a scutching wheel mounted thereon, a clutch mechanism on said shaft comprising a sliding member and two members fixed against endwisemovement, a

sprocket wheel attached to each fixed member, feeding rolls for conveying material to the scutching wheel and withdrawing it therefrom, a sprocket wheel on the shaft of each feed roll, and a sprocket chain extending between each feed roll sprocket wheel to a sprocket on a clutch member, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a main frame, a feed trough, a primary and. a secondary scutching wheel the perimeter of the latter being in a plane below that of said feed trough, feed rolls common to and associated with said scutching wheels and having a peripheral speed lower than that of the peripheries of said. scutching wheels, means for reversing said feed rolls, means for guiding material from the said feed rolls for treatment by the secondary scutching wheel, and means actuated through the medium of the feed rolls for removing the material from the secondary scutching wheel, substantially as set forth.

6. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of two scutching wheels, feed .rolls between them, a feed trough placed above one of the scutching wheels and extending towards the feed rolls; a supporting board between the feed rolls and the proximate end of the trough but in a lower plane, and means for reversing the direction of rotation of said feed rolls, substantially as set forth.

7. In a machine of the class described, means for separating pulpy matter from fibrous material, feed rolls adapted to advance the material to the separating means, a guide, a traveler movable thereon, a tip ping bar pivoted to said traveler, and means operated by the feed rolls for raising the traveler at the proper time to remove the stripped fiber from the feeding means, substantially as set forth.

8. In a machine of the class specified, feed rolls for feeding material to the cleaning means, means for reversing the direction of said feed rolls, and mechanism for removing the cleaned fiber from the machine comprising a vertically movable traveler operated through the medium of the feed rolls, and a tipping arm pivoted on said traveler and adapted to remove the fiber from the feeding means when cleaned, substantially as set forth.

9. In a machine of the class specified, a carrier for removing the cleaned fiber comprising a guide, a traveler adapted to slide thereon, a tipping bar pivoted to said traveler and movable therewith, a sprocket wheel, a sprocket chain operated by said wheel for raising said traveler and its tipping bar, and means at each end of the said guide for arresting the movement of the traveler,

substantially as set forth.

10. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a primary scutching "wheel, a cooperating shoe, a secondary scutching wheel, a shoe cooperating therewith, driving mechanism connecting the scutching wheels, feed rolls, common to the primary and secondary scutching wheels, arranged between the same and adapted to feed towards either of said scutching wheels the material to be treated and to hold the same during action thereon by either of said scutching wheels, and means operated by the feed rolls for removing the cleaned fiber from the machine, substantially as set forth.

11 In a machine of the class specified, two instrumentalities for scutching opposite ends of a fiber' stalk, means for feeding one end of the stalk to one of the scutching instrumentalities, means to reverse the feedingmeans, means whereby the untreated end of the stalk is fed during the reverse motion of the feeding means to the second scutching instrumentality, and means actuated from the feeding means when reversed to remove the fiber therefrom, substantially as set forth.

12. In a machine of the class specified, two instrumentalities'for scutching opposite ends of a fiber stalk, means for feeding one end of the stalk to one of the scutching instrumentalities, means to reverse the feeding means, means whereby the untreated end of the stalk is fed during the reverse motion of the feeding means to the second scutching instrumentality, a fiber carrier, and means to actuate said carrier whereby it shall engage the fiber between the two scutching instrumentalities and remove it from the feeding means, substantially as set forth.

18. Ina machine of the class specified, the combination of a main frame, a feed trough, a primary and a secondary scutching wheel the perimeter of the latter being in a plane lower than that of said feed trough, a shoe for each scutching wheel, feeding and extracting means common to and associated with said scutching wheels and comprising two rollers one superimposed upon the other, means for reversing said feeding and eX- tracting means, means for regulating the pressure of one of said rolls upon the other, and means actuated through the medium of the feed rolls for removing the material from the secondary scutching wheel, substantially as set forth.

14. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a main driving shaft, a primary scutching wheel mounted thereon, a secondary scutching wheel mounted upon an independent shaft situated in a plane lower than that occupied by the shaft of the primary scutching wheel, a clutch mechanism on said main driving shaft, and feed means driven by the said clutch mechanism whereby material under treatment may be directed to either scutching wheel and held for action thereon by the wheel then operative, substantially as set forth.

15. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of two scutching wheels, feed rolls common to and associated with said scutching wheels, means for reversing said feed rolls whereby the feed may be made to either wheel and the material held for action thereon by said wheel, and means operated by the feed devices and moving synchronously therewith for removing the treated material therefrom, substantially as set forth.

16. In a machine of the class specified, the combination of a primary and a secondary scutching wheel, feed rolls common to and associated with said scutching wheels and having a peripheral speed lower than that of the peripheries of said scutching wheels, means for reversing said feed rolls, means for guiding material to the feed rolls for treatment by the primary scutching wheel, means for guiding material from the said feed rolls for treatment by the secondary scutching wheel, and means, operated by the feed mechanism, for removing the treated material from said mechanism, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

.E. L. BRAOY.

W. O. VVELBORN.

Witnesses:

F. D. HAYDEN, THOS. D. AITKEN 

